Method and apparatus for liquid purification

ABSTRACT

A means for modifying contaminants in a liquid comprising a reaction chamber where the liquid interacts with an ionization reaction material which causes contaminants to reduce or oxidize into harmless compounds.

This application is a divisional application which claims the benefit ofapplication Ser. No. 10/980,5039, filed on Dec. 13, 2004, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,255,789, filed in the name of the same inventor and for whichco-pending application Ser. No. 11/774,560 filed on Jul. 7, 2007 is alsoa divisional application of application Ser. No. 10/980,5039, filed onDec. 13, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,789.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Presently, the quality of the global pure drinking water supply isdecreasing at a faster rate than the population is expanding. The UnitedNations International children's Educational Foundation (UNICEF)estimates that 20,000 to 30,000 children die every day from waterbornediseases such as typhoid, malaria, e-coli, cholera and many othercontaminants. These contaminants can also include such things as salts,halogens, organic solvents, pesticides, fertilizers, industrialchemicals, bacteria, protozoa, fungi and other foreign matters.

The extensive use of fertilizers and pesticides by farmers, runoffs frommajor animal husbandry sites, contamination spills by industries, thedumping of raw sewage into our lakes and streams and the significantnumber of landfill sites have caused many contaminants to percolate downthrough the soil and into the underlying water tables throughout theworld. The result is that today many more wells and springs are nowtesting positive for a wide array of toxins and contaminants harmful tohuman, animal and plant health.

In many areas of the world, and in the United States of America, publicwater supply systems are monitored for diseases and toxins on a regularbasis to assure the public that the water is safe to drink. However,cases are still reported in the U.S. of contaminated water supplysystems. Furthermore the majority of the water piping and distributionsystems in the U.S., and internationally, are many decades old and asthe water passes from a main purification site to an end user, the watercan pickup additional contaminants and toxins from the aging waterdistribution systems.

There have been a variety of attempts to provide purified water at auser or business' point of entry and/or point of use site. One suchdevice is known as the Britta. It is a single stage filter utilizing thelaws of gravity and a carbon block held in a container. Water is pouredinto a top holding container and gravity slowly draws the water throughthe carbon block to a lower container for consumption. Carbon doesreduce some toxic chemicals and gases from water however it does notpurify the water. This device is also greatly limited by the capacity ofwater that it can produce in a 24-hour period. It most certainly wouldnot produce enough filtered water to supply a family of four with enoughdrinking and cooking water for an entire day.

There are other products available that provide two stage filteringdevices consisting of a carbon block filtration and a paper filtersurrounding or in line with the carbon block. However, these systems donot address the issue of microorganisms in the water, which can bypassthe filtration systems.

Yet another product available to consumers is a device called the Purwater filter. This system utilizes a small and low wattage ultraviolet(UV) lamp and a carbon block filter. The UV light is known to killmicroorganisms in the air and in water. Unfortunately, the UV lampdeteriorates over time to the point that it cannot produce the necessarywavelength to kill microorganisms in the water. Furthermore, the systemdoes not provide a means to know when the UV lamp has deteriorated. Assuch, the end user may think that the device is adequately killingmicroorganisms when in fact the UV lamp has become useless as a biocide.The use of a laser for producing UV light for treating water has alsobeen described by Goudy in U.S. Pat. No. 4,661,264

Another additional means of purifying water has been the use of what isknown as KDF 85 and/or KDF 55 as a biocide and is described by Heskettin U.S. Pat. No. 5,951,869. This process utilizes a compound that isbasically copper and zinc that creates and ion exchange and chelating(clumping together) producing properties in the water. This material isprimarily used in large municipal water treating systems however therehave been some attempts to have the KDF 85 or KDF 55 materialimpregnated onto a paper filter for point of use water treatment systemswith limited success.

While all of the above presented means provide some degree for improvingthe water supply, none of them fully purify the water in an economicaland efficient manner. As such, a technical need still exists to purifywater, air or other fluids quickly, efficiently, over a long-term useand do so economically.

Heading

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood by reading the detaileddescription of the preferred embodiments of the invention along with areview of the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an overall view of the various components of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the first collective filtration unitused in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the molecular reaction chamber usedin the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a planer view of the first and second photolytic lightchambers used in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the second collective filtrationunit used in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the carbon filter used in theembodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a view of the cover that covers and protects the entire unitshow in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 8 is a planer view of the pressure gauge.

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional planar view of the molecular reactionchamber depicting a plurality of internal mesh screens.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the description of the inventionas illustrated in the drawings. Although the preferred embodiments ofthe invention will be described in connection with these drawings, thereis no intent to limit the invention to the embodiment or embodimentsdisclosed therein. On the contrary, the intent is to include allalternatives, modifications and equivalents included within the spiritand scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Furthermore, the order of the itemized steps in FIG. 1 are not meant tolimit the scope of the invention to the specific itemized order of thosesteps, but rather to include those steps in any relevant order includingany alternatives, modifications and equivalents included within thespirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

To aid in the understanding of the invention, examples of some of thespecific itemized steps are provided for clarification purposes only. Inparticular, some of the examples use water for the liquid beingpurified, however, these examples are not meant to limit the inventionto only water, but rather to include any alternative, modification andequivalents included within the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined by the appended claims.

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for treating wateror other liquid to assure that the water or liquid is of a high degreeof purity. The origin of the water or liquid can be from any source suchas municipal water supply systems, independent well systems, tankertruck or rail car, a lake, a river, desalinized sea water, collectedrail water or other like source.

FIG. 1 depicts an overall view of the liquid treating apparatus 1without the cover for the apparatus. The cover is shown later in FIG. 7.The liquid treating apparatus 1 contains a base 2 to which elements ofthe liquid treating apparatus are connected. The base 2 is constructedwith a plurality of mounting holes 3 such that the liquid treatingapparatus can be mounted to a wall (not shown) or a frame (not shown).Other equally effective mounting systems are well known in the art.

The water or other liquid (not shown) flows from a pressurized source(not shown) through the inlet pipe 4 through a pressure regulator 5through a first transfer pipe 6 and then through a flow indicator 7. Thepressure regulator 5 assures that the liquid is maintained at or below apredetermined pressure setting for optimal operating efficiency of theliquid treating apparatus 1. The flow meter 7 is connected 8 to thelaser light source generator 9 such that the laser light sourcegenerator 9 only generates a laser light (not shown) in the ultravioletrange when the flow indicator 7 indicates that liquid is flowing throughthe liquid treating apparatus 1. As the liquid exits the flow indicatorthe liquid travels through a second transfer pipe 10 to the first stageof the liquid treatment apparatus 1.

The first stage of the liquid treatment apparatus 1 is the primarycollective filtration unit 11. The primary collective filtration unit 11(shown in detail in FIG. 2) contains a 5.0 micron filter whose primarypurpose is to prevent any chemical, particulate matter or other media5.0 microns or larger from traveling any further than this stage in theliquid treating apparatus 1.

The liquid then exits the primary collective filtration unit 11 andtravels through a third transfer pipe 12 to the second stage of theliquid treatment apparatus 1. The second stage of the liquid treatmentapparatus 1 is a molecular reaction unit 13, called the Hydro-MediaReaction Chamber, that functions as an effective biocide. The detailsand design of the molecular reaction unit 13 is discussed in greaterdetail in relation to FIG. 3 later in this description of the invention.

The liquid then exits the molecular reaction unit 13 and flows through afourth transfer pipe 14 to the third stage of the liquid treatmentapparatus 1. The third stage of liquid treatment apparatus is a firstphotolytic laser chamber 15 in which the liquid is subjected toultraviolet light in the 100 to 300 nanometer range produced by a laserlight source generator 9 and received by a laser light receiver 16. Thisprocess acts as a biocide by altering the contaminants so that they canbe filtered out later and removes volatile organic compounds. Theultraviolet light destroys organic compounds by breaking the covalentbonds in the chemical thereby forming free radicals which react withwater and break down into harmless substances. Details of the first andsecond photolytic light chambers 15 and 22 are shown later in FIG. 4.

The liquid then exits the first photolytic laser chamber 15 through afifth transfer pipe 17 and enters a secondary collective filtration unit18. The secondary collective filtration unit 18 utilizes a 0.5 micronfilter which traps or collects all of the destroyed microorganisms thatwere affected by the first photolytic laser chamber 15 and anyparticulate matter or other media that is 0.5 microns in size or larger.Details of the secondary collective filtration unit 18 are shown in FIG.5.

The liquid then exits the secondary collective filtration unit 18 andtravels through a sixth transfer pipe 19 to a carbon filtration unit 20.The carbon filtration unit 20 utilizes a pharmaceutical grade granularactivated carbon filter. This unit removes odors, chlorine, benzenes andother aromatic ring structures, pesticides and many other volatileorganic hydrocarbons that may be found in various combinations in waterand/or other liquids. The granular configuration of the activated carbonprovides an effective method for maintaining a desired liquid flow ratewith maximum beneficial results in eliminating the aforementioned odorsand compounds. Details of the carbon filtration unit 20 are shown inFIG. 6.

The liquid then exits the carbon filtration unit 20 through a seventhtransfer pipe 21 and enters a second photolytic laser chamber 22. Thesecond photolytic laser chamber 22 also operates in the 100 to 300nanometer range. This second photolytic laser chamber 22 is the finalstage in the liquid treatment apparatus 1 and assures that the liquidand/or water leaving the unit is free from microorganisms by subjectingthe liquid or water to a second ultraviolet light process identical tothe first photolytic laser chamber 15. This provides additionalprotection to overcome any effects of colonization or of filtrationfailure. The water or other liquid then exits the unit through an eighthtransfer pipe 23.

The eighth transfer pipe 23 is then connected to a pressure gage 24which is in turn connected to the out going liquid supply line 25. Thepressure gage 24 is color coded in red, yellow and green zones. When thepressure gage 24 indicates that the liquid pressure in the liquidtreatment apparatus 1 is in the green zone, the filters do not have tobe replaced. When the pressure gage 24 indicates that the liquidpressure is in the yellow zone, it is time to prepare for changing thefilters or to change the filters. When the pressure gage 24 indicatesthat the liquid pressure is in the red zone, the filters should bereplaced. Details of the pressure gage 24 are shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 2 depicts a cross-sectional view of the primary collectionfiltration unit 11. This unit consists of a cap 26 with a liquid inletchamber 27 and a liquid outlet chamber 28. The cap 26 is attached to theremovable primary collection filtration body 29 with an o-ring 30between the cap 26 and the removable filtration body 29 to preventliquid leakage. Inside the primary collection filtration unit 11 is a5.0 micron filter 31 for the collection of contaminants 5.0 microns insize or larger. In operation, the liquid flows through the secondtransfer pipe 10 into the liquid inlet chamber 27 and into the center ofthe filter 32. The liquid then passes through the filter 31 trapping anyobjects 5.0 microns in size or larger and exits the collectionfiltration body 29 through the outlet chamber 28 and the third transferpipe 12 attached to the cap 26. The cap 26 also has a bleeder valve 33for bleeding off excess air when the unit is initialized or afterreplacing the filter 31.

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of the molecular reaction unit 13. Themolecular reaction unit 13 has an upper cap 34 with a liquid inletchamber 35 and a liquid outlet chamber 36. The third transfer pipe 12 isconnected to the liquid inlet chamber 35 and the fourth transfer pipe 14is connected to the liquid outlet chamber 36. The cap 34 is secured to aremovable reaction chamber body 37 with an o-ring 38 between the cap 34and the reaction chamber body 37. A filter pad 39, preferablypolypropylene or nylon, separates the interior of the upper reactionchamber 40 and the outlet chamber 36 located in the cap 34. Attached tothe cap 34 is an internal supply tube 41 that extends down to almost thebase of the reaction chamber body 37 and within but not touching theconical screen 46 as shown in FIG. 3. Attached near the center of theinternal supply tube 41 is a middle mesh screen 42, preferably made ofstainless steel that separates the upper reaction chamber 40 from thelower reaction chamber 43. Placed inside of both the upper and lowerreaction chambers 40 and 43 is a reaction material 44, preferably amaterial called KDF 85 and/or KDF 55 as identified and described byHeskett in U.S. Pat. No. 5,951,869. However, other reaction materials 44are available that could be utilized in place of the KDF 85 and/or KDF55 and/or in conjunction with the KDF reaction materials 44. Fixedlyattached to the internal supply tube 41 near its base within but not incontact with the conical screen 46 as shown in FIG. 3 is a solid dualfunnel shaped object 45 called the dual funnel. At the base of theinternal supply tube 41 is a conically shaped mesh screen 46 as shown inFIG. 3, preferably made of stainless steel that covers the internalsupply tube opening and wraps up and around the cylindrically shapeddeflector cup 47 shown in FIG. 3 and is fixedly attached to the top ofthe deflector cup 47. The mesh screen 46 assures that the reactionmaterial 44 stays above the deflector cup 47 in the lower reactionchamber 43 in order to assure that the reaction material 44 operates ina turbulent manner with the liquid in the lower reaction chamber 43 whenthe liquid is flowing through the liquid treatment apparatus 1. Alsoattached to the deflector cup 47 is the lower chamber funnel 48.Surrounding the deflector cup 47 is a media bed 49 used to fill in thespace between the deflector cup 47, the lower chamber funnel 48 and thereaction chamber body 37. The media bed 49 is a man made gravel ofconsistent size and shape. The cap 34 also has a bleeder valve 50 torelease excess air when the unit is initialized or the ionizationmaterial 44 is replaced.

The operation of the molecular reaction unit 13 will now be described indetail. Water or other liquid under pressure enters the molecularreaction unit 13 through the liquid inlet chamber 35 and travels downthe internal supply tube 41 where the liquid exits the internal supplytube after passing through a mesh screen 46. The liquid is then directedupward by the shape of the deflector cup 47. As the liquid travelsupward it again must pass through the mesh screen 46 going between thebase of the internal supply tube 41 and the top of the deflector cup 47.The mesh screen 46 prevents any reactive material from going into thedeflector cup 47. As the liquid passes between the lower chamber funnel48 and the dual funnel 45, the liquid gains speed and force due to therestriction of the opening between the lower chamber funnel 48 and thedual funnel 45. The force of the liquid exiting the dual funnel 45 andthe lower chamber funnel 48 causes the reaction material 44 to go intoturbulent suspension with the liquid. As the liquid rises in themolecular reaction unit 13, the turbulence slows due to the greateropening in the upper and lower reaction chambers 40 and 43. The middlemesh screen 42 traps the reaction material 44 into the lower reactionchamber 43. The reaction material 44 in the upper reaction chambers 40stays in non-turbulent suspension near the middle mesh screen 42. Inuse, the reaction material 44 exchanges electrons with contaminantswithin the liquid thereby causing either an oxidation effect or areduction effect on the contaminants which causes the contaminants tochange into a harmless form that can be filtered out later. The liquidthen rises to the top of the reaction unit 13, passes through the filterpad 39 which keeps all of the reaction material 44 in the upper reactionchamber 40 and the liquid then exits through the outlet chamber 36 intothe fourth transfer pipe 14.

In an alternate embodiment of the molecular reaction unit 13, there canbe a plurality of additional mesh screens 42 between the original meshscreen 42 and the cap 34. This would create additional reaction chambersshown in FIG. 9 in which additional reactive materials 44 could beplaced. The additional reactive chambers and reactive materials can beadditional or alternative reaction materials 44 other than KDF 85 and/orKDF 55 that would operate in addition to or as a substitute for thefirst reaction materials 44. Some of the additional reactive materials44 may require that the molecular reaction unit 13 be periodically backflushed in order to cleanse the molecular reaction unit 13.

FIG. 4 depicts the preferred embodiment of the design of the first andsecond photolytic light chambers 15 and 22. On one end of the secondphotolytic light chamber 22 is the laser light source generator 9 and onone end of the first photolytic light chamber 15 is the laser lightreceiver 16. In between the generator 9 and the receiver 16 is acontinuous hollow quartz tube 51 through which the laser light (notshown) travels in operation. A first tube 52 surrounds a first portionof the quartz tube 51 and is sealed around the quartz tube at both endsof the tube 53 and 54. There is a space 55 through which the liquid willpass around the quartz tube 51 when the unit is in operation. Thiscreates the first photolytic light chamber 15. A second tube 56surrounds a second portion of the quartz tube 51 and is sealed 57 and 58at both ends of the tube 56 around the quartz tube 51. There is a space59 between the quartz tube 51 and the tube 56 through which the liquidwill pass around the quartz tube 51. The spaces 55 and 59 are thechambers through which the liquid passes and becomes exposed to theultraviolet laser light (not shown) which is generated by the laserlight generator 9 and received by the laser light receiver 16.

In the first and second photolytic light chambers 15 and 22, as theliquid flows under pressure as indicated by the flow meter 7 attached tothe first transfer pipe 6, the flow meter 6 sends a signal through theconnection 8 to the laser light generator 9 which activates the laserlight. A laser light, in the 100 to 300 nanometer range, travels throughthe inside of the quartz tube 51 to the laser light receiver 16. As theliquid flows through the spaces 55 and 59 in the photolytic lightchambers 15 and 22, the liquid is exposed to the laser light in the 100to 300 nanometer range. This range of light is known to act as aneffective biocide and to reduce metallic salts by altering contaminantsinto harmless components which can be filtered out later. The light alsodestroys organic compounds by forming free radicals from the compoundswhich then react with water to break down into harmless substances.

When the liquid or water stops flowing as indicated by the flow meter 7,the laser light generator 9 shuts off the laser light source so that thelaser light source 9 and the power consumption is only used when thereis liquid flowing through the system. In addition, the laser lightgenerator 9 can be set to operate in a specific range such as 185 or 254nanometers, or is can be set to oscillate or switch between two or morenanometer ranges for optimum performance. Some of the more obviousadvantages to this design is the use of a single source of light for acreating a multitude of exposures and the ability to target a range ofultraviolet light on the liquid to be treated as opposed to a singlewavelength. In addition, an ultraviolet light produced by a laser lightsource will not degenerate over time as does an ultraviolet lamp thusproviding a long and economical useful life of the unit.

In an alternative embodiment to the photolytic light chambers 15 and 22,there is only a short piece of quartz rod 51 or other lens like materialthat connects the end of the first photolytic light chamber 15 to theend of the second photolytic light chamber 22 and allows for the passingof the laser light in the 100 to 300 nanometer range, without inhibitingthe laser light spectrum, from the first photolytic light chamber 15 tothe second photolytic light chamber 22. Usage of a lens or other deviceattached between the two photolytic chambers allows transfer of thelaser beam through both chambers simultaneously and also deniescrossover contamination of the liquid. Thus, instead of the liquid beingexposed to the ultraviolet light radiating outward from the quartz tube51, the liquid is exposed directly to the ultraviolet laser light insideof the photolytic light chambers 15 and 22. In addition, the lens or athin piece of the rod 51 could be placed in front of the laser lightgenerator 9 and in front of the laser light receiver 16 which wouldprevent any direct conductive connection between the liquid and thelaser light generator 9 and/or the laser light receiver 16. In anotheralternate embodiment, the inside of the first and second tubes 52 and 56can be modified for the desired reflective capabilities allowing forgreater exposure of the liquid to the desired ultraviolet light rangethereby achieving a more through biocide coverage of the liquid. In afurther embodiment, the first photolytic light chamber 15 can be placedin a horizontal position and the second photolytic light chamber 22placed in a vertical position with a reflective material used to bendthe laser light from a horizontal position to a vertical position.

As the liquid exits the first photolytic light chamber 15, the liquidtravels through a fifth transfer pipe 17 to the secondary collectivefiltration unit 18 shown in the cross-section view in FIG. 5. Thesecondary collective filtration unit 18 has a cap 60 with a liquid inletchamber 61 and a liquid outlet chamber 62. The cap 60 also has a bleedervalve 66 to release excess air when the liquid treatment apparatus 1 isinitialized or the filter 65 is replaced. Between the cap 60 and theremovable filter body 63, there is an o-ring 64 for sealing the cap 60to the body 63. Inside of the filter body 63, there is a 0.5 micronfilter 65. As a liquid enters the filter body 63 through the water inletchamber 61, the liquid is forced to pass through the 0.5 micron filter65 before passing out through the water outlet chamber 62 and throughthe sixth transfer pipe 19. This filtration process deals with thesmallest particulates and microorganisms. Due to the aggressiveness ofthe combination of the ionization unit 13 and the first photolytic lightchamber 15, the possibility of colonization of any microorganisms issignificantly reduced.

Upon exiting the secondary collective filtration unit 18, the liquidtravels to the carbon filtration unit 20 shown in a cross-sectional viewin FIG. 6. The carbon filtration unit 20 has a cap 68 with a liquidinlet chamber 69 and a liquid outlet chamber 70. The cap 68 also has ableeder valve 74 to release excess air when the liquid treatmentapparatus 1 is initialized and/or the activated carbon filter 73 isreplaced. Between the cap 68 and the removable carbon filter body 71there is an o-ring 72 for sealing the filter assembly 20 from anyleakage. Inside of the carbon filter body 71 there is a pharmaceuticalgrade granular activated carbon filter 73. As the liquid enters thecarbon filter body 71 the liquid is forced to pass through the activatedcarbon filter 73 and exits out of the liquid outlet chamber 70 andthrough the seventh transfer pipe 21. The activated carbon granularfilter 73 removes odors, chlorine, herbicides, benzenes and otheraromatic ring structures, pesticides and many other volatile organichydrocarbons that may be present in various water sources, includingmunicipal water supplies, as the water moves through the carbonfiltration unit 20.

Upon exiting the carbon filtration unit 20, the liquid travels to thesecond photolytic light chamber 22 shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. This finalstage in the liquid purification process is a final ultraviolet lightlaser chamber 22 that operates in the same manner as described in thefirst photolytic light chamber 15 above. This second photolytic lightchamber 22 assures that the liquid is free of any microorganisms byproviding a secondary ultraviolet light treatment to overcome anyeffects of colonization and/or filtration failure that may have occurredin the prior treatment stages.

FIG. 7 depicts the cover 75 for the liquid treating apparatus 1. Thecover is secured to the base 2 with screws or other attachment means(not shown) to keep dust and dirt out and to prevent people or animalsfrom coming in unnecessary contact with the components of the liquidtreatment apparatus 1. This cover may be partially or fully clear ortransparent and/or have a sight window present in the cover 75 allowingvisual opportunity available for people to monitor the liquid treatmentapparatus 1 in operation.

FIG. 8 depicts the pressure gage 24 where in the gage 24 is coloredcoded into three zones, zone A 77 in which the filters 31 and 65 arefunctioning properly, zone B 78 in which it is time to prepare to changethe filters 31 and 65 or to change the filters 31 and 65 and zone C 79wherein the filters 31 and 65 should be changed.

1. A means for modifying contaminants in a liquid comprising: a meansfor supplying said liquid under pressure in to a reaction chamber; ameans for exposing said liquid to a reaction material, said reactionmaterial causing said contaminants within said liquid to oxidize and/orreduce; a means for exiting said liquid from said chamber; and a meansfor keeping said reaction material in said chamber.
 2. The means formodifying contaminates in a liquid as defined in claim 1, wherein saidmeans further comprises additional means for increasing the velocity ofsaid liquid in said chamber prior to exposing said liquid to saidreaction materials.
 3. The means for modifying contaminants in a liquidas defined in claim 1, wherein said further comprises additional meansfor causing said reaction material to be in turbulent flow with saidliquid.
 4. The means for modifying contaminants in a liquid as definedin claim 1, wherein said means further comprises: a. additional meansfor creating a plurality of separate levels within said chamber; and b.additional means for supplying each said level different types ofreaction materials for causing oxidation and/or reduction of saidcontaminants in said liquid.
 5. The means for modifying contaminants ina liquid as defined in claim 1, wherein said means further comprises: a.additional means for increasing the velocity of said liquid in saidchamber prior to exposing said liquid to said reaction materials; b.additional means for creating a plurality of separate levels within saidchamber; and c. additional means for supplying each said level differenttypes of reaction materials for causing oxidation and/or reduction ofsaid contaminants in said liquid.
 6. A means for modifying contaminantsin a liquid comprising: a means for supplying said liquid under pressurein to a reaction chamber; a means for creating a plurality of separatelevels within said chamber; a means for supplying each said leveldifferent types of reaction materials; a means for exposing said liquidin turbulent flow to said reaction materials, said reaction material; ameans for exiting said liquid from said chamber; and a means for keepingsaid reaction material in said chamber.